Ventilated boot or shoe.



No. 655,576. Patented Aug. 7', 190.0.

.|. .1. PEARSON.

VENTILATED BOOT 0B SHOE.

(Application filed Oct. 6, 1897.)

(No Model.)

IN VENTOH ATTORNEYS.

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NITED STATES PATENT Diaries.

JAMES J. PEARSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENTILATED BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,576, dated August 7, 1900.

Application filed October 6, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES J. PEARSON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ventilated Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to ventilating mats or cushions for boots and shoes interposed between a perforated insole and the outer sole, the mats or cushions being elastic and having connection with a channel leading to the heel-vent of the shoe for the ingress and egress of air.

The object of the invention is to provide certain new and useful improvements in such elastic mats or cushions for boots and shoes, whereby a complete circulation of air within the boot or shoe is maintained during walking and the tread is cushioned and deafened to insure easy walking of the wearer of the boot or shoe.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a shoe provided with the improvement. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same with the outer sole removed. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a like view of the same on the line 4: a of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view of a modified form of the improvement. Fig. 6 is a plan viewof another modified form of the improvement, and Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the same on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6.

The shoe shown in Fig. 1 is provided with the usual outer sole A, an inner perforated sole l3, and an upper O, and between the said soles is interposed an elastic mat or cushion D, made of rubber or like elastic material, and connecting at its inner end with an airpassage E, leading to the heel-vent F for the egress and ingress of air, as hereinafter more fully described.

The mat or cushion D is molded or other- Serial No. 654,253. (No model.)

wise formed, and consists of buttons arranged one alongside the other to form longitudinal and transverse rows of buttons, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2, the buttons being preferably in the form of flattened spheres or polygons integrally connected with each other at their sides only to form reduced necks D, Fig. 1, to render the mat as flexible as possible in any direction and very elastic to insure a soft-cushioning effect on the wearers feet during walking. The buttons form projections on each face of the mat and by contact with the soles only at their flattened top and bottom surfaces form natural vents or interspaces on both sides of the mat to allow equal charging and displacement of the air at all points and in all directions between the soles inclosing the mat. The reduced necks or con nections D, Fig. 1, between the adjacent buttons allows free passage of the air from all parts of the mat to the heel-vent when the mat is compressed and conversely free access to all parts when expanded back toits normal state.-

Now it is evident that when the wearer places his foot down and exerts a pressure against the inner sole B then the mat is compressed, and in doing so the air from either sideof the mat is forced out, and as it has free access at each side and at'all angles to the air-passage E and to the heel-vent F at the heel it is evident that the air is readily discharged. from the shoe or boot and the air or part of the air is not liable to be trapped on either side of the mat, as is the case with other cushions as heretofore constructed.

When the mat is released of its pressure, upon the wearer lifting his foot it readily returns to its natural position, owing to the re siliency of the mat material, and'hence a suction of air takes place through the vent-opening F, the air-passage E, and the mat D, and by the perforated inner sole B to the inside of the shoe orboot, thus supplying the boot with fresh air. On the next compression of the mat the used air is again expelled, as before described, and fresh air is drawn in on the next lifting of the foot. y

In the modified form shown in Fig. .5 the buttons are penetrated longitudinally and lat erally with flexible wire or thread G, so that each button is formed over and has the intersection of the wires for its center, and the neck or junction of each button is reinforced with a single wire or thread-core. The wires described and shown form a strengtheningcore for the necks of the buttons of the mat; but such core may be otherwise constructed without deviating from the spirit of my invention.

As indicated in Figs. 6 and 7, the mat is formed on one side with lateral ridges H and at its other side with longitudinal ridges H, each serrated 0r nicked at intervals to render the mat very flexible and to allow air to pass in every direction on either or both sides of the mat, it being expressly understood thatthe construction just described forms in substance projections the same as above described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

The air-passage E may be made invarious ways-by parallel leather strips, for instance, as shown, or by the use of grooved tongues, helical-coiled wires, &c., or other means sufiiciently flexible to allow free bending of the sole at the instep and sufficiently rigid to withstand the pressure of the foot when Walking without diminution of the area of the passage or permitting the insole to be crushed.

. The making of the buttons in the form of flattened spheres is an essential feature of my invention, and such buttons possess many advantages over buttons which are true spheres. By referring to the drawings it will A :be seen that the thickness between the flattened crowns of a button is designed to just fill the space between the inner and outer soles of the shoe, while the edge-to-edge dimensions of a button regulates their number, and therefore the number of necks and perforations in any given surface of mat. If they were not thus flattened, but were whole spheres, then the thickness of the button would be the measure of its other dimensions, which would necessitate an increased number of necks, and therefore perforations, and would thus make the perforations so small that the molds could not .be taken apart without tearing away some of the mat and leave many of the perforations incomplete. This I have found to be true in practice; but even if it were not so the small size necessifated by the true sphere which would have to fit between the soles would make the filler exceedingly uncomfortable under the wearers foot. Furthermore, this shape would limit both the wear and the ventilating efficie'ncy of the mat, for the buttons would flatof elastic buttons integrally connected with 7 each other at their sides by reduced necks, substantially as shown and described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a ventilating-mat for boots and shoes, having projections on each face and openings between the projections, the said projections being arranged on both sides in longitudinal and transverse rows, as set forth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a ventilating-mat for boots and shoes consisting of a series of elastic buttons in the form of flattened spheres and connected together, as

set forth. 7

4:. As a new article of manufacture, aventilating-mat for boots and shoes, consisting of a series of elastic buttons in the form of flattened spheres and connected together by reduced necks, whereby a perforated mat hav= ing projections and longitudinal and trans= verse passages on each side will be produced,

as set forth.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a ventilatingmat for shoes and boots, consisting of elastic buttons arranged one alongside of the other, and a core for the said buttons, each button being formed over the intersection of two strands, substantially as shown and described.

6. As a new article of manufacture, aventilating-mat of an elastic materiahand con sisting of flattened spheres or polygons and a core consisting of longitudinal and transverse flexible wire or thread, each sphere or polygon being formed over and having the intersection of the wires for its center and the neck or junction of each sphere or polygon reinforced with a single wire or thread, substantially as shown and described.

JAMES J. PEARSON.

Witnesses:

THEO. G. HOSTER, J No. M. BITTER. 

